Branding iron furnace



Feb. 11, 1958 B. o. BISSELL.

BRANDING IRON FURNACE Filed Nov. 23. 1953 /7 VEA/.045

United States P tc io BRANDING IRON FURNACE Bennieville O. Bissell,Troutdale, Greg. Application November 23, 1953, Serial No. 393,696 1Claim. (Cl. 126-229) This invention relates to improvements in brandingiron furnaces, and more particularly to furnaces which are readilyportable and which are economically and rapidly heated.

The branding of cattle is generally performed on the range or at otherplaces away from modern facilities for heating branding irons. Ironsused for branding are generally heated in an open fire. In open fireheating it is difiicult to heat the irons to a uniform and propertemperatura for successive branding operations because of the Variancein temperature of the fire during the branding operations. Anotherdisadvantage of open fire heating is that the kind of fuel required toproduce a hot fire is not always available in sufiicient quantity toheat the irons to the required temperature and to maintain the heat,thus slowing up the branding operation. Furthermore, open firesrequireconstant attentionandalso are hazardous and may cause serious damage ifallowed to spread or if sparks escape therefrom and ignite othercombustible material.

Advantages attending the use of a branding iron furnace embodying theinvention are to be found in the fact that a high B. t. u. type of fuelis always instantly available; that the flame is enclosed and isconcentrated at a place where the branding irons are most readilysupported; that the heat produced may effectively be directed upon theirons and is not dissipated by wind; that the degree of heat produced isuniform and is not affected by humidity or availability of native fuel;and that the furnace is easily carried from place to place, as from onestock chute to another, or from one part of the open range to another,and renders unnecessary the usual loss of time While waiting for thekindling of a fire and the generation of sufficient heat with nativefuel to heat the irons. Moreover, use of the furnace enables carefulcontrol of the degree of heat generated so that branding irons areuniformly heated to a proper degree for the application of any number ofsuccessive brands.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide abranding iron furnace which is light in Weight so as to be readilyportable, in which the degree of heat generated is subject to manualcontrol, which provides for rapid and economical heating of the brandingirons, and which confines the flame so as to be safe for use in areasselected for branding.

Another object is to provide a branding iron furnace which utilizes apair of burners extending through the walls of a fire box at an angle todirect the flames in a direction for most efficiently heating brandingirons.

Another object is to provide a double bail arrangement on the furnacefor convenience in supporting branding irons being heated and forcarrying the furnace.

Another object is to provide a portable furnace for heating brandingirons which has an upper flat wall portion to be used as a warming areafor cooking utensils;

Other objects are to be found in the details of construction of thevarious parts of the device, in their relationship, and in the mode ofoperation of the device as will hereinafter befully described.

The illustrated embodiment of the inventioncomprises an open-ended firebox composed of a highly refractory material and protected by a metalcovering. The fire box comprises an. end wall, side walls, a floor andaroof, and is mounted on a tank such as customarily used to contain a.gaseous fuel. The tank is mounted ona base 'which supports the entireunit in an upright positon'. Conduits lead from the tank to burners inthe fire box, a burner being mountedin the fire box at the junction ofeach side wall and the floor. The burners are mounted in alignmenttransversely of the fire box and at an angle to direct the flame ontothe branding irons. The furnace is equipped with a pair of bails, oneofthe bails being used for supporting thereon the extended handles ofbranding irons during the heating operation, the other bail, which isshorter in length, being used for carrying the furnace..- .A portion ofthe' roof of the fire box is fiattened andmay be used as a warmingsurface for cooking utensilsand the like.

The invention will be better understood and additional advantages willbecome apparent from the following description, taken. in .connectionwith the accompanyin'g ,drawings which illustrate the preferred form ofthe device. .It is to be understood however, that the invention may takeother forms, and that all such modifications and variations. withinthe:Scope of the appended claim which will occur to persons skilled'in theart areincluded in the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure V1. is a perspective view of the branding furnace showingbranding irons supported in positon to be heated in the fire box; and

Figure 2 is a front elevation view of the fire box showing in particularthe positions of the burners in the fire box and of the control for theflow of fuel from the tank.

Referring to the drawings, a fire box 10 is mounted on a fuel tank orcylinder 11. The fuel used in the tank 11 is an infiammable gas such aspropane gas. The tank 11 has a flat base member 12for supporting theentire unit in an upright positon. The fire box 10 is mounted on thetank 11 by means of a semicircular bracket 15, and having an aperture 16in each side wall. The bracket preferably has means whereby the fire boxand tank may be separated so as to facilitate refilling the tank withfuel or exchanging an empty tank for a full tank of fuel.

The fire box 10 has a bottom wall or floor 18, side walls 19 and 20, anda top wall or roof 21, the construction of the fire box preferablycomprising an outer metallic shell and a lner of fireproof material,such as fire brick or similar highly refractory material. The top wall21 has a horizontal portion 22 which serves as a warming surface for aCoffee pot or other cooking utensls. An Opening 23 in the top wall 21toward the rear of the heating chamber provides for venting the chamberso that Smoke and gases may escape therethrough instead of rollingforward to find escape through the open end. Secured to each of the sidewalls 19 and 20 is a pair of lugs 24 and 25. A pair of bails 27 and 28is pivotally mounted at 29 on the side walls of the fire box, the lugs24 supporting the bail 27 n a front horizontal positon and the lugs 25supporting the bail 28 in a rear horizontal positon.

The bail 27, When rotated to a horizontal positon so as to engage thelugs 24, comprises a support for one or more branding irons 30a When thefurnace is in use as shown in Figure 1. The bail 28 is shorter than thebail 27, and is used as a handle for carrying the assembled furnace fromplace to place. The bail 28, being shorter in length than bail 27,efiects easy handling and manual pick-up of the furnace by providing agrippng surface low enough so that the furnace can be carried manuallywith a straight arm. The bail 27 is long enough to support the brandingirons in the furnace so that the center of gravity of the irons istoward the furnace. As seen in Figure 1, When the furnace is in use theshorter bail or handle 28 is rotated to a horizontal position to therear of the fire box and laid on the lugs 25 to be out of the way. r

A T-fitting 30 is mounted on the tank 11, and a pair of conduits 31 and32 lead from the fitting 30 to a pair of burners 33 and 34 havingnozzles 35 and 36, respectively. A Valve 37 is provided in the fittingto control the flow of fuel to the burners. The nozzles are preferablymounted at an angle between 20 degrees and 45 degrees so that the flametherefrom is directed upwardly more efiectively to heat the brandingirons.

As best seen in Figure 2, the burners are Secured to the fire box bybrackets 38, and the nozzles 35 and 36 extend through the walls 19 and20, respectively, and emerge inwardly of the fire box at the junction ofthe side walls and bottom wall thereof. Branding irons to be heated areplaced in the fire box with the handles thereof resting on the bail 27and the ends of the irons used for branding are placed between thenozzle outlets to heat the irons rapidly and to a uniform, propertemperature.

The present invention may, of Course, be used for heating solderingirons or other things such as horseshoes, rods, rivets, castings, andthe like. Furthermore, the furnace can readily be transported and usedon the range or in buildings without danger of Setting fire to adjacentcombustible material. Livestock can be branded as fast as they are movedinto a branding chute and dentical brands are produced because ofuniform and fast heating of the irons.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I clam as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A furnace adapted for mounting on the top of a portable fuel tank forheating branding irons and the like comprising a fire boxhaving bottomwall, a pair of opposite side walls and a top wall, a portion of saidtop wall forming an exterior heating surface, said firebox having anopen end, a pair of burner nozzles mounted angularly in opposed relationin said opposite side walls and protruding interiorly of said boX at thejunctions of said bottom Wall and said side walls, a fuel valve adaptedfor mounting in the top of the fuel tank, a T fitting on said Valveconnected with both of said burner nozzles, a downwardly projectingbracket on said bottom wall having substantially semi-cylindrical legortions spaced on opposite sides of said Valve and adapted for mountingon said top of the fuel tank at a distance from said valve, a horizontalsupporting bail in front of said open end to support branding irons nthe furnace, lugs on said firebox to support said bail, a second bailpivotally mounted on said side walls and rotatable between an uprightcarrying position and an out-of-the-way position at the rear of thefirebox, and lugs on said firebox to support said second bail in saidout-of-the-way position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS500,239 Loeble June 27, 1893 851,865 Conant Apr. 30, 1907 1,374,587Lambert Apr. 12, 1921 l,497,l04 Lamb June 10, 1924 l,760,868 BlaskewitzJune 3, 1930 1,786,065 L Heirnberger Dec. 23, 1930 1,802,146 MacDonaldApr. 21, 1931

